Coverage of the Hickory Crawdads baseball team

Results tagged ‘ Yosmer Solorzano ’

Despite mustering two runs on ten hits over 14 innings the Hickory Crawdads rode the back of strong pitching and the bat of Ti’Quan Forbes in game two to earn a doubleheader split with the Kannapolis Intimidators Saturday night at L.P. Frans Stadium.

The split left the teams in a series split for the four games. The Crawdads are off for Easter Sunday and then will resume South Atlantic League play Monday night at 6 p.m. as they start a three-game series against visiting West Virginia.

What happened in game one:

Polk County native Joel Booker continued to harass Hickory pitching with a three-hit performance in game one and had a hand in all three runs.

He led off the doubleheader with a broken-bat single and moved to second as Mitch Roman’s sneaked an infield hit to the right side, as Booker beat a throw to second from second baseman Brallan Perez. One out later, Brandon Dulin hit a ball to Preston Scott, who fielded the ball on the run, but his throw to second went into leftfield and allowed Booker to score from first.

Kannapolis (3-8) made it 2-0 in the second. With one out, Antonio and Wilfredo Rodriguez (no relation) both singled. After Max Dutto whiffed, Booker oozed a grounder through the infield for an RBI single.

The Crawdads (5-6) got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Ti’Quan Forbes singled and was then erased on Scott’s fielder’s choice. One out later, Ricky Valencia got enough wood on an inside fastball for a bloop RBI single.

However, the Intimidators added an insurance run in the fourth as Booker singled in MIcker Adolfo to account for the final margin.

Jimmy Lambert (1-0) pitched a complete-game six-hitter with one walk and five strikeouts.

Edgar Arredondo (0-2) gave up all three runs on ten hits and a walk, and struck out three. Reid Anderson pitched two scoreless innings with one hit allowed and two Ks.

What happened in game 2:

Both team had just four hits each, but Forbes’s homer in the fourth was the difference.

Sal Mendez (1-0) made the spot start for Hickory and gave up a walk and two outs over five innings with four strikeouts. The Intimidators threatened just once against him and that came in the third. Grant Massey singled and moved to second when Tyler Sullivan was hit by a pitch. Mendez then got Booker looking and induced Roman to tap into an double play.

Jake Lemoine worked around a double in the sixth. In the seventh, Seby Zavala singled and Adolfo was hit by a pitch. Zach Remillard botched a sacrifice and bunted a third-strike foul for a strikeout. Lemoine then struck out Massey before Christian Torres was brought in to face Tyler Sullivan.

Torres needed just three pitches to fan Sullivan and get his first pro save.

Yosmer Solorzano pitched a complete game in the loss (1-1).

Forbes fortunes:

Forbes had four pro homers in 227 games entering this season. He has four in 11 games this season. For the season Forbes has hits in 10 of 11 games and his at .436/.500/.769. He’s in a good place right now.

I had a twitter conversation about Forbes and I pondered if Forbes gets a bump up when Charles Leblanc is ready at extended spring. Or… after Forbes struggled so much over his first two seasons as a pro, will the Rangers let him dominate for now and amp up his already burgeoning confidence.

An intriguing arm:

The Texas Rangers have had success with late-round pitching selections and I wonder if they perhaps have a nugget with 40th-round selection Sal Mendez.

In talking with Crawdads pitching coach Jose Jaimes, I asked him to give me a pitcher that is under the radar. Sal Mendez was his answer. When I asked for who had the best secondary pitch, Jaimes said it was Mendez’s changeup.

Mendez needed 68 pitches (44 strikes) to get through five innings. He relied on a two-pitch mix of fastball (89-91) and change (81-83) and did so effectively with very little squared up. Three of his five Ks came consecutively in the first and second. He got Dula to swing through a change off the 1B side of the plate in the first. Then fired a fastball that Zavala took for a called third strike. Then, it was back to the change off the plate to get Adolfo.

Very simply, he attacked the strike zone and got mostly weak contact. Mendez threw 11 of 18 first-pitch strikes to hitters, much of that total coming early (6 of the first 7). He’ll have to continue to throw strikes and hit spots, but he’s not afraid to attack.

I’m interested and want to see more.

Yey-yey is ney:

Yeyson Yrizarri is not in a happy zone right now. One-for-14 in the series, 3-for-39 for the season, it’s been a tough one. The one hit in the series was on a ninth-inning, get-me-over fastball with a five-run lead on Friday night. Otherwise, he is seeing a lot of breaking stuff in front of the plate and in the dirt and hacking away.

He did hit into a bit of tough luck in game one. In the second inning, Remillard took a roller behind the bag and then with a Manny Machado-esque throw from behind the back, got Yrizarri by a quarter step.

In his first AB in game two, he was unable to hold back on a fastball at the thumbs and then later whiffed at a curveball in the dirt. After the AB, the body language had the look of one who was beaten for now.

Defense wins games:

While Booker played a big part in the game-one win, so did the Kannapolis defense – especially from shortstop Max Dutto.

In the third, Brallan Perez lined a pitch to right. Adolfo ran the ball down and made a strong throw to second that was to the centerfield side of the bag. Dutto made the catch on the one-hop throw, then made the lunging tag on Perez. Later in the inning, Dutto made a diving stop of a grounder and made the quick throw to first to barely get Leody Taveras at first.

With a runner on first in the fifth, Yrizarri hit a comeback to Lambert, whose throw to second on the pivot was to the third-base side. Dutto made a back-handed catch while his momentum carried him across the bag and then completed the double play at first.

In the sixth, Dutto made a grab of a grounder deep in the hole and made a strong throw to complete the out at first.

Missing hitting counts:

Scuffling as a team, the Crawdads collectively seem to be unable to take advantage of hitter’s counts. In game two, Solozano threw first-pitch strikes to just eight of 22 hitters. However, Hickory managed just four hits and a walk.

Jose Almonte’s triple down to right scored Anderson Tejeda from first for the game winner. White Sox No. 10 prospect Dane Dunning struck out 13 and allowed one unearned run on three hits. Outfielder Travis Bolin pitched the 12th and got the win for the Crawdads.

Recent Series History:

The Crawdads were 12-4 in 2016 against Kannapolis, 5-3 at home. Since the Crawdads began the affiliation with the Rangers in 2009 they are 85-53 overall, 41-26 at L.P. Frans.

About the Crawdads:

Hickory has won three straight after a 1-4 start. The Crawdads handed Columbia its first loss of the season and then went on to take two of three from the Fireflies before last night’s home opener. Hickory has scuffled to a .216 BA and .294 OBP, both next to last in the South Atlantic League. However, the Crawdads lead the SAL with 11 homers.

Prospects to watch- Hickory:

CF Leody Taveras (No. 1 MLB.com and Baseball America, No. 55 MLB.com top-100 prospects): After hits in his first six games, Taveras is 0-9 in his last two with 8 Ks in his last 18 ABs.

SS Anderson Tejeda (No. 8 MLB.com, 16 Baseball America): Struggling to make contact at the plate for now, has at least one K in all eight games, 15 in 29 ABs. Also has five walks on the season after just 18 in all of 2017. Got his first triple of the season in the home opener and later scored the winning run.

OF Yanio Perez (No. 15 MLB.com, 27 Baseball America) Got his first homer of the season during the final game of the road trip, then K’d 4 times in five ABs last night.

2B Yeyson Yrizarri (No. 17 MLB.com): Started slow out of the gate at 2-for-29. Is putting the bat to the ball with just 5 Ks. After just 9 walks in 2016, he’s yet to get a free pass this season.

RHP Tyler Ferguson (No. 30 Baseball America): Has not pitched yet this season. The big righty (6-4, 225) had a dominant tenure with Spokane (1.78 ERA, 46 Ks/ 10 BBs 30.1 IP), then struggled to find his command after he joined Hickory for the final month of 2016 (10 Ks/ 18 BBs 13.1 IP). Brings an overpowering fastball/ slider, but the Vanderbilt product’s goal is simple to start the season: find the plate.

Others to watch – Hickory:

3B Ti’Quan Forbes: The hottest hitter in the lineup at the start (.414/.485/.759). Homered in each of his first three games and at least one hit in seven of the first eight games. Forbes leads the South Atlantic League in total bases, slugging and OPS (1.243)

RHP Emerson Martinez: Threw five shutout innings in his first start at Greensboro. proven to be a durable arm for the Crawdads over his two seasons coming out of the pen or starting. Looks to get groundballs for outs. Twelve of the 15 outs he recorded at Greensboro were strikeouts or grounders.

RHP Edgar Arredondo: Had 56 Ks to just four walks last season with DSL Rangers, but struggled with control during his first stateside start on Sunday. Managed to record just four outs as he walked three and hit a batter.

About the Intimidators:

Managed by Justin Jirschele, who played in 15 games for the Intimidators in 2013. He was the team’s hitting coach last year… The Intimidators have started slowly and have lost three straight after last night… Like Hickory, the Intimidators have struggled at the plate and are next to last in the SAL in runs scored and are last with just 10 extra-base hits.

Prospects to watch – Kannapolis:

LF Jameson Fisher (No. 14 Baseball America, 15 mlb.com): Fourth-round pick out of SE Louisiana. As a redshirt-junior in 2016, led NCAA D-I in on-base pct. and was second in batting average. Continued to rake in the Pioneer League (.342/.436/.487). Was a catcher in college before hurting his shoulder and had surgery for a torn labrum.

RHP Mike Morrison: 27th round pick out of Coastal Carolina. Pitched for last year’s College World Series champions. So far has allowed just one hit and struck out six over four innings in three appearances. Fanned four in two innings during Thursday’s game.

RHP Yosmer Solorzano: International free agent from Venezuela. Likely starter for Saturday’s doubleheader. In his last start on Monday against Rome (Ga.), gave up just one run on six hits and struck out nine over six innings. To date, has the only win for Kannapolis.

3B Zach Remillard: Tenth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina. Played for last season’s College World Series champs. Started pro career well with the AZL White Sox and earned a promotion to full-season club at Kannapolis for the final month. Currently on a four-game hit streak.

2B Mitch Roman: 12th round pick out of Wright St. Had three hits during Thurday’s loss to Hickory. Currently at .370/.414/.481 for the season.

CF Joel Booker: 22nd round pick out of Iowa. Attended Polk County High in Columbus, NC. Has four multi-hit games, including a two-hit night on Thursday.

Note of Interest: Hickory added RHP Tyler Davis and LHP Christian Torres during the road trip and will pitch out of the bullpen. Both pitched for Hickory in 2016. Davis made 16 starts for High Desert last year… Kannapolis RF Micker Adolfo (No. 20 mlb.com, 24 Baseball America) is on the disabled list.

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